(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 20)-Columbia College sits atop the 2009-10 American Midwest Conference Women's Basketball pre-season poll released Wednesday by the conference office.

There is a lot of firepower returning for a Columbia squad that posted a 29-5 overall record and 14-2 league mark in 2008-09. The Cougars earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship and reached the second round. Head coach Mike Davis has a trio of three-year starters returning in seniors Rachel Oswald, Whitney Davis and Whitney Widaman. Oswald registered 16 points and 7.3 rebounds per game on her way to All-Conference accolades. Davis joined Oswald on the All-Conference team by averaging seven points and a league-best 5.6 assists per outing. Widaman rounded out the trio by posting 12 points and four assists a game for Columbia.

After sharing the AMC regular-season title with Columbia, William Woods went on to win the conference tournament championship and earn its spot in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship. The Owls were 21-11 overall and 14-2 in the AMC a year ago, and head coach Dan Chapla has the nucleus of last year's team returning in 2009-10. Heading the list is junior forward Rachel Baker, the 2008-09 AMC Player of the Year. Baker averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds per game for William Woods. Also back are senior guard Eshell Estrella (10 PPG, 4 APG), junior guard Jill Sutton (8 PPG) and sophomore center Miranda Loesch (8 PPG, 7 RPG).

McKendree University grabbed 51 points to finish third in the AMC pre-season poll. Head coach Melissa Ringhausen led the Bearcats to a 20-12 record and a berth in the AMC Tournament championship contest, and has a young squad set to take the floor in 2009-10. Senior guard Haley Klingelhoefer (9.3 PPG) will provide veteran leadership, and will be joined by junior guards Katie Fullerton (8.8 PPG, 114 assists) and Ashley Agee (13 PPG).

Missouri Baptist University was picked to take fourth place in the AMC with 43 points, followed by Williams Baptist College with 33 points. Hannibal-LaGrange College grabbed the No. 6 slot in the AMC pre-season poll with 30 points, and were followed by the league's newest member, Park University. The Pirates return to the conference and grabbed 23 points in the rating.

Rounding out the AMC pre-season poll are Stephens College (13 points) and Harris-Stowe State University (12 points).

The 2009-10 AMC schedule begins on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 and runs through Saturday, Feb. 27. The AMC Tournament will be held March 1, 3, 5 and 8. The post-season champion will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, which runs March 17-23 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.

2009-10 AMC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRE-SEASON POLL

(FIRST-PLACE VOTES IN PARENTHESES)

Place   Team                                                   Points

1          Columbia College (5)                               61

2          William Woods University (4)                   58

3          McKendree University                             51

4          Missouri Baptist University                      43

5          Williams Baptist College                         33

6          Hannibal-LaGrange College                     30

7          Park University                                       23

8          Stephens College                                   13

9          Harris-Stowe State University                  12